


The Littlest Warrior

by mcgarrygirl78



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Family, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 00:43:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2408897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcgarrygirl78/pseuds/mcgarrygirl78
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I dreamed of you.  I'm not sure if it was a dream, a vision, or what but even in the world of limbo our souls were bound.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Littlest Warrior

**Author's Note:**

> This story is written in the Blood of my Blood universe. It takes place after events in the story Soulless and The Light That Led Me Back Home.

“You should see the look on your face.”

“What?” he came out of his thoughts and looked at her.

“The look on your face. It’s one of curiosity, awe, and something else I can't quite describe.”

“I just…” Sam tore his eyes away from his wife. He looked down at the blanket covering her legs. The heat rushed to his cheeks, which seemed silly considering his age and all he'd seen. 

Sam walked the earth for 40 years before his death. After that he lived for another three millennia. The amount he'd seen in that time would be unfathomable to many, both human and of his world. “It’s a miracle.”

“Tell me what you're thinking.” Jessie put her hand over her husband’s.

“It’s a miracle; all of it is a miracle. You gave birth to a child and you nourish that child at your breast. I just…I try to fathom all the things women can do. Their strength is immeasurable. Your strength is immeasurable, Jessie. You mother my children.”

“Well your son is a little greedy piggy.” Jessie smiled as she relaxed against the pillows. “I'm honestly surprised that I have enough to feed him.”

_Baby boy Kassmeyer came into the world three weeks earlier than expected. Jessie’s placenta separated, putting both she and the baby in danger. Sam was away from home. He didn’t want to be but needed to attend to some business in Luzerne. Hotch volunteered to stay with his family until he returned._

_He got Jessie, with Jack and Juliana in tow, to Natalie Prentiss immediately. The Volura gave her a remedy that normally would’ve handled the problem. When it didn’t work Jessie and the baby went into distress. Sam arrived, dirty and shaken from his trip. After a quick I love you, Natalie sent him out of the room._

_She did a cleansing ritual, lighting candles to summon all good spirits. Due to distress, Jessie wasn’t able to birth the baby naturally. Natalie gave her a C section and pulled the child from her. He was born in a flood of nearly blinding white light. Natalie had lived for many centuries but had never seen anything like it. After he let out his first healthy wail, Jessie started to hemorrhage._

_The bleeding was severe, though Natalie never let it creep into her thoughts that she would lose the young mother. Jessie was immortal, but to bleed out would kill her…technically. It was difficult for someone to come back from that kind of shock. Natalie managed to stop the bleeding but nothing about the procedure was easy._

_For two days Jessie teetered on the brink. Sam went into deep meditative prayer. Spirits roamed in and out of Ambassador Gregory Prentiss’ large house to join him. Even Nora Bennett came to lay hands on Jessie and send prayers up to the Boss. On the third day, late in the evening, Jessie opened her eyes._

_“Sam?” she looked around the room, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. Jessie was sure she’d been there before. Her brain was too fuzzy for her to comprehend what was happening. All she wanted was her husband; he always brought calm to her chaos. “Sam, I need you.”_

_He snapped out of meditation immediately when he heard her voice. She barely whispered but Sam always heard his wife. He jumped up so quickly from the chair that he almost hit the floor._

_“You're a sight for sore eyes.” He walked across the room, sitting on the bed and taking her hands. They were warm to his touch and Sam was so grateful. He held them together with his own, letting his warmth and strength fill her. She could have every drop of it if it was what she needed. “I didn’t want to let hope slip. I never would’ve let hope slip.”_

_“Is the baby alright?” Jessie’s voice was raspy but he heard the fear. “We didn’t lose him did we? Sam, please tell me that he's alright.”_

_“The baby is fine.” The spirit smiled. He placed her hands on the blanket and caressed her face. “Natalie kept you both alive and the Boss looked over you. It was touch and go for a while but I knew you’d come back to me.”_

_“I dreamed of you. I'm not sure if it was a dream, a vision, or what but even in the world of limbo our souls were bound.”_

_“Always.” Sam leaned to kiss her. “I’ll get Natalie; she needs to have a good look at you.”_

_“I want to see the baby.” Jessie gripped her husband’s hand as he tried to get up from the bed. “I need to…I have to see him with my own eyes.”_

_“As soon as Natalie makes sure you're alright then she’ll bring him to you. I know he wants to you see just as much.”_

_“How long have I been asleep? What if I can't bond properly with him, Sam? What if what you’ve been worried about all this time turns out to be true?”_

_Tears glistened in Jessie’s green eyes before sliding down her cheeks. Sam put his hands on either side of her face and pressed his forehead on hers. Jessie breathed deep just like her husband; Sam didn’t let go until Jessie’s breathing and heartbeat were just as calm as his._

_“I’ll be right back.” He whispered. “Everything is going to be alright.”_

_“I believe you._ ”

“I just can't believe how big he is.” Jessie marveled at her son as she held him. The little boy was over eight pounds at birth. “Juliana was rather small but he's the polar opposite. What size would he be if I would’ve carried him to term? I'm not sure I’ll have enough milk to fill him.”

“Nature makes a way. Natalie made sure you both had all you needed even though you were apart.” Sam stroked his son’s light brown hair. “This little one doesn’t have a name yet.”

“I know. The whole time I was pregnant I just couldn’t settle on anything.” The baby turned away from her breast. Jessie handed him to Sam, who gently burped him as she adjusted her nightgown. She loved watching him father the children as much as he loved watching her mother them. 

She’d seen him with Tracy, knew he would be a good dad. That barely scratched the surface of how good he was with Jack, Juliana, and now this little one. “I knew deep down that I was having a boy; I knew as soon as I became pregnant. No name seemed to fit how he made me feel when I was carrying him. What's your father’s name?”

“Michael.” Sam replied. “That’s the name of the only archangel in the Bible, though that was after his time on Earth. The archangel Michael led Heaven’s armies against Lucifer in the book of Revelation.”

“Heaven’s armies.” Jessie stroked the baby’s back as Sam held him. “I think we should name him Michael.”

“Are you sure?”

“I couldn’t think of anything better. It connects him to you and it connects him to the light.”

“Then we’ll call him Michael Aaron Kassmeyer.”

“Aaron?” Jessie asked.

“I wasn’t there, and I'm sure I’ll carry some part of that with me for all of my days. You and Michael are safe because Aaron was there when you needed him. He's my best friend. The two of us are together for a reason, just as you and I are.”

“It’s a strong name; a warrior’s name.” Jessie smiled. “He's going to do such great things, I'm sure.”

“Soon he’ll be blessed.” Sam said. “And his place in the world will be touched by the light.”

Jessie was so excited. She was happy to be a mother again; to have a son to raise in his father’s image. Unfortunately Sam would be gone within a month, off again to fight in defense of the light. That didn’t give Jessie and Michael much time to spend with him. Jack and Juliana needed their time as well. As they'd been doing from the beginning, the family would make the most of it.

“I'm going to stay home an extra couple of weeks.” Sam said. “I’ll wait until after the blessing ceremony to rejoin my team.”

“Were you reading my mind?” his wife asked.

“No.” he shook his head.

“Are you being untruthful?”

“Yes.” He nodded.

Smiling, he put his sleeping son in the bassinet beside the bed. As soon as Michael was down, white light filled the bassinet. That surprised Sam and Jessie; Juliana had never done anything like that. The prophecy said that her powers wouldn’t manifest until her ninth year. There was no prophecy concerning their son, at least that they knew of. 

Raising him was going to be a daily adventure for the couple and Sam for one couldn’t wait. He took his boots off, climbing into bed with his wife. Jessie was still exhausted from the strenuous birth. Sam held her in his arms, never wanting to let go. He didn’t want to think about how close he'd come to losing her. Sam prayed, he begged, for her everlasting life to be spared. The Boss heard his prayers. 

As the bright white light dimmed, Jessie turned her attention from her sun to her husband. She took a deep breath and relaxed in Sam’s arms. For three days she had been in some kind of netherworld. Jessie couldn’t explain it with words but her husband was not there with her. His warmth and his comfort were sorely missed. She stroked her hand across Sam’s chest before placing it over his heartbeat.

“I was scared.” Jessie whispered. “Wherever I was, I was alone Sam and I was scared.”

“So was I. Faith doesn’t negate fear. I knew the Boss would bring you back to me but I could hardly bear to think of what you were facing. I wasn’t there to protect you in so many ways. If I ever lost you…”

“You’d take good care of the kids, right?”

“I'm honestly not sure if I wouldn’t die right behind you of a broken heart.” Sam admitted. 

Over millennia he’d lost so much and learned to walk on. That was the life of a spirit. The light would always guide his footsteps; be his strength when Sam thought he had none. Still, losing Jessie was something he couldn’t fully comprehend. For once he was appreciative of his ignorance.

“We’re both stronger than we think.” Jessie said.

“I think we’re strongest together. We’re always going to be if I have anything to say about it.”

“The Boss gets the final say. You told me once that he discourages love and attachment though spirits have free will.”

“It’s not love that he discourages, its temptations of the flesh. Lust has been known to destroy civilizations.” He said. “But sometimes it’s so strong, and is a part of the intense love a person has for another, that none of that matters.”

“I'm sure we aren't the only two people who threw caution to the wind for love.” Jessie said. “Fate had a little hand in it as well, or so I heard.”

“I've never loved anyone but you, Jessie. It probably sounds corny but I could care less. The truth is all that matters to me.”

“You are pretty corny sometimes.” Jessie laughed, groaning a bit from the pain. “Ow, don’t make me laugh.”

“Does that bother you terribly?” Sam slipped his hand under her chin, tilting it upward so he could look into her eyes. Michael had his mother’s green eyes. “That I'm corny sometimes?”

“It doesn’t bother me at all. I love you, Sam Kassmeyer. I love you madly and that feeling brings me more joy than anything I've ever experienced. I will feel it for the rest of my life.”

“It will be a long and fruitful life. I have little doubt there are so many more adventures for us.”

Jessie smiled as she closed her eyes. She’d been asleep for three days but needed to build up her strength. She wanted to take her son home, jump back into life with both feet. Jessie had always been fond of adventure. No one could’ve ever told her that this life would be hers. 

She would marry one of the oldest beings walking the earth. Her nephew and daughter would grow up to save the world from darkness. Her second child, whose life wasn’t written on holy scrolls, was still bathed in glorious light. Jessie knew that she would see both the holy and horrible if her life was everlasting. Every moment would be worth it with Sam and their family by her side.

***


End file.
